Sierra Leone (2001) | Paraguay (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 17 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital city*; Alto Paraguay, Alto Parana, Amambay, Asuncion*, Boqueron, Caaguazu, Caazapa, Canindeyu, Central, Concepcion, Cordillera, Guaira, Itapua, Misiones, Neembucu, Paraguari, Presidente Hayes, San Pedro |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.9% (male 1,223,479/female 1,184,134)
15-64 years: 57.3% (male 1,825,473/female 1,809,810) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 140,935/female 164,053) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 878 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 866
1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 323 under 914 m: 517 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 406,750 sq km
land: 397,300 sq km water: 9,450 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than California |
Background | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. | In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important areas were won from Bolivia. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER was overthrown in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, relatively free and regular presidential elections have been held since then. |
Birth rate | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 29.43 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.123 billion
expenditures: $1.129 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | Asuncion |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west |
Coastline | 402 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | promulgated 20 June 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: Republic of Paraguay
conventional short form: Paraguay local long form: Republica del Paraguay local short form: Paraguay |
Currency | leone (SLL) | - |
Death rate | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.28 billion (1999) | $3.239 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John F. KEANE
embassy: 1776 Avenida Mariscal Lopez, Casilla Postal 402, Asuncion mailing address: Unit 4711, APO AA 34036-0001 telephone: [595] (21) 213-715 FAX: [595] (21) 213-728 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
chief of mission: Ambassador James SPALDING Hellmers
chancery: 2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-6960 through 6962 FAX: [1] (202) 234-4508 consulate(s) general: Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York |
Disputes - international | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations |
Economic aid - recipient | $203.7 million (1995) | NA |
Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. | Landlocked Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector. This sector features both reexport of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. A large percentage of the population derives their living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. The formal economy grew by an average of about 3% annually in 1995-97, but averaged near-zero growth in 1998-2001 and contracted by 2.3 percent in 2002, in response to regional contagion and an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth desease. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most observers attribute Paraguay's poor economic performance to political uncertainty, corruption, lack of progress on structural reform, substantial internal and external debt, and deficient infrastructure. Aided by a firmer exchange rate and perhaps a greater confidence in the economic policy of the Duarte FRUTOS administration, the economy rebounded in 2003 and 2004, posting modest growth each year. |
Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (1999) | 2.469 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 42.51 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (1999) | 48.36 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m
highest point: Cerro Pero (Cerro Tres Kandu) 842 m |
Environment - current issues | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing | deforestation; water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal pose health risks for many urban residents; loss of wetlands |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians | mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) | guarani per US dollar - 5,974.6 (2004), 6,424.3 (2003), 5,716.3 (2002), 4,105.9 (2001), 3,486.4 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
chief of state: President Nicanor DUARTE Frutos (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Nicanor DUARTE Frutos (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held April 2008) election results: Nicanor DUARTE Frutos elected president; percent of vote - Nicanor DUARTE Frutos 37.1%, Julio Cesar Ramon FRANCO Gomez 23.9%, Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella 21.3%, Guillermo SANCHEZ Guffanti 13.5%, other 4.2% |
Exports | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils, electricity, wood, leather |
Exports - partners | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) | Uruguay 27.8%, Brazil 19.2%, Argentina 6.3%, Switzerland 4.1% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | three equal, horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue with an emblem centered in the white band; unusual flag in that the emblem is different on each side; the obverse (hoist side at the left) bears the national coat of arms (a yellow five-pointed star within a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles); the reverse (hoist side at the right) bears the seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty and the words Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice) capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
agriculture: 25.3%
industry: 24.9% services: 49.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 2.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 23 00 S, 58 00 W |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in southern part of country |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
total: 29,500 km
paved: 14,986 km unpaved: 14,514 km (1999 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | major illicit producer of cannabis, most or all of which is consumed in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile; transshipment country for Andean cocaine headed for Brazil, other Southern Cone markets, Europe, and US; corruption and some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area |
Imports | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery |
Imports - partners | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) | Brazil 30.9%, Argentina 23.3%, China 16.6%, US 4% (2004) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 14 May 1811 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0% (2000 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products, steel, metallurgic, electric power |
Infant mortality rate | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 25.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 5.1% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1993 est.) | 670 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges appointed on the proposal of the Council of Magistrates or Consejo de la Magistratura) |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
2.66 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 45% |
Land boundaries | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 3,920 km
border countries: Argentina 1,880 km, Bolivia 750 km, Brazil 1,290 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 7.6%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 92.17% (2001) |
Languages | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) | Spanish (official), Guarani (official) |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (80 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held April 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held April 2008) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANR 16, PLRA 12, UNACE 7, PQ 7, PPS 2, PEN 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANR 37, PLRA 21, UNACE 10, PQ 10, PPS 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.89 years
male: 72.35 years female: 77.55 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94% male: 94.9% female: 93% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Central South America, northeast of Argentina |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,667 GRT/30,826 DWT
by type: cargo 15, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Argentina 2) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military branches | Army | Army, Navy (includes Naval Aviation, River Defense Corps, Coast Guard), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $46 million (FY96/97) | $53.1 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96/97) | 0.9% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 14 May 1811 (observed 15 May annually) |
Nationality | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Paraguayan(s)
adjective: Paraguayan |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June) |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone |
Net migration rate | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] | Asociacion Nacional Republicana - Colorado Party or ANR [Herminio CACERES, interim president]; Movimiento Union Nacional de Ciudadanos Eticos or UNACE [Enrique GONZALEZ Quintana, acting chairman]; Patria Querida (Beloved Fatherland Party) or PQ [Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella]; Partido Encuentro Nacional or PEN [Luis TORALES Kenney]; Partido Liberal Radical Autentico or PLRA [Julio Cesar FRANCO]; Partido Pais Solidario or PPS [Carlos Alberto FILIZZOLA Pallares]
note: Nicanor DUARTE Frutos on leave as party leader of the Colorado Party or ANR while serving as President of Paraguay; Lino Cesar OVIEDO Silva, leader of UNACE, is currently serving a ten-year prison term |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | Ahorristas Estafados or AE; Coordinating Table of National Campesino Organizations or MCNOC; National Federation of Campesinos or FNC; National Workers Central or CNT; Paraguayan Workers Confederation or CPT; Roman Catholic Church; Unitary Workers Central or CUT |
Population | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) | 6,347,884 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | 36% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.61% (2001 est.) | 2.48% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | Asuncion, Villeta, San Antonio, Encarnacion |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 46, FM 27, shortwave 6 (three inactive) (1998) |
Radios | 1.12 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
total: 441 km
standard gauge: 441 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite and other Protestant 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 75 |
Telephone system | general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: meager telephone service; principal switching center is Asuncion
domestic: fair microwave radio relay network international: country code - 595; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | 273,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 650 (1999) | 1,770,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 5 (2003) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.93 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 15.1% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | 3,100 km (2004) |